Doug Henning

Doug Henning was a famous magician. He loved to perform magic on TV.

He made many big things vanish. He even made a whole elephant disappear! He also tried a hard escape act in water.

Doug worked hard to learn his craft. He studied dance and how to move his body. He wanted his magic to look like art.

His shows were very popular on Broadway. Many people went to see his magic plays. He even won awards for his work.

Later, Doug moved to India. He wanted to spend time with meditation. He believed that anything is possible if you try.

Doug Henning was a famous Canadian magician. He loved to make magic look like art. He studied dance and mime to help his shows. He also studied with great magic teachers.

Doug became a star on Broadway. His show was called The Magic Show. It ran for four and a half years. He even earned a Tony Award nomination for it.

Many people watched him on TV. His World of Magic specials were very popular. In one show, he made an elephant vanish. In another, he walked through a brick wall. He even performed a famous water escape. This was a trick first done by Harry Houdini. Over 50 million people watched his first special on NBC.

Doug also worked with famous singers. He made illusions for Michael Jackson. Later in life, Doug changed his focus. He moved to India to practice Transcendental Meditation. This is a way of sitting quietly to focus the mind. He believed that people could reach their dreams by looking within. He even ran for politics with the Natural Law Party. He wanted to help solve world problems through meditation.

Doug Henning was a famous Canadian magician and illusionist. He wanted to make magic feel like a beautiful art form. He believed that magic plus theatre equals art. This idea helped him win a grant from the Canada Council for the Arts. He used the money to study dance and mime. He also studied many different ways to perform magic. He wanted to bring magic back to its glory days. This meant making shows that were grand and exciting for everyone.

To become a master, Henning studied with great teachers. He visited the Magic Castle in Hollywood, California. There, he met a famous magician named Dai Vernon. Vernon was often called "the Professor." Henning also learned from a teacher named Slydini. He spent a long time practicing his skills. He even built his own illusions for his shows. He spent $5,000 just to design these special tricks.

Henning became a huge star on Broadway. His show was called The Magic Show. It featured music by Stephen Schwartz and debuted in 1974. The show was very successful and ran for four and a half years. It even earned Henning a nomination for a Tony Award. He also created a musical called Merlin on Broadway. His talent for making magic look like a story made him very popular.

Many people watched Henning on their television screens. His World of Magic specials were huge hits on NBC. Over 50 million people watched his first special in 1975. In one show, he made an elephant vanish. In another, he walked through a brick wall. He even performed a famous water-torture escape. This was a dangerous trick first done by Harry Houdini. He also made magic for famous singers like Michael Jackson.

Later in his life, Henning changed his focus. He became very interested in Transcendental Meditation. This is a way of sitting quietly to focus the mind. He moved to India to practice this for a long time. He even ran for politics with the Natural Law Party. He wanted to use meditation to help solve world problems. He believed that anything the mind can imagine is possible. He wanted everyone to realize their fondest dreams.

Doug Henning was a prominent Canadian magician, illusionist, and escape artist. He was also a politician and a student of psychology. Henning is best remembered for transforming magic into a theatrical art form. He believed that magic plus theatre equals art. This philosophy guided his entire professional career. He wanted to move beyond simple nightclub acts or children's shows. Instead, he aimed to create grand, dramatic experiences for all audiences.

To achieve this vision, Henning underwent rigorous training in several disciplines. He first applied for a $4,000 grant from the Canada Council for the Arts. He used these funds to study mime under Adrian Pecknold. He also studied dance with a Canadian choreographer. To master magic, he visited the Magic Castle in Hollywood, California. There, he met the famous magician Dai Vernon, known as "the Professor." Henning eventually traveled to study with Slydini, whom he considered his primary teacher. This combination of movement and technical skill defined his unique style.

Henning's career reached new heights through large-scale theatrical productions. He developed a live show called Spellbound. This show was written by David Cronenberg and directed by Ivan Reitman. Henning spent $5,000 specifically to design and build his illusions. After a successful run at the Royal Alexandra Theatre in Toronto, he moved to Broadway. His production, The Magic Show, featured music by Stephen Schwartz. It debuted in 1974 and ran for four and a half years. This success earned him a nomination for a Tony Award.

Television brought Henning's magic into millions of homes. In 1975, his first World of Magic special aired on NBC. More than 50 million viewers watched this historic broadcast. The show was hosted by Bill Cosby and ran live without commercials. Throughout the late 1970s, Henning produced several annual specials. These included themes like "Fire, Water and Air." He performed incredible feats, such as making an elephant vanish. In another special, he demonstrated the illusion of walking through a brick wall.

One of Henning's most famous achievements involved the legacy of Harry Houdini. He proposed reproducing Houdini's dangerous water-torture escape on television. This was the first time the escape had been performed since Houdini did it himself. Henning spent eight months practicing and reworking his act for this event. He successfully performed the illusion during his 1975 broadcast. While he did not break Houdini's original time record, the feat was a massive success. He later co-wrote a biography titled "Houdini: His Legend and His Magic."

Henning's influence extended to popular music and consumer products. In 1979, he created illusions for an Earth, Wind and Fire tour. He also designed magic for two Michael Jackson concerts, including the 1984 Victory Tour. In 1985, a set of plush toys called Doug & Debby Henning's Wonder Whims was released. These six characters came with animal friends and magic kaleidoscope wands. His work bridged the gap between high-level stage illusion and popular culture.

In the mid-1980s, Henning's interests shifted toward spirituality and politics. He retired from professional magic to move to India. There, he devoted himself to Transcendental Meditation. He earned a Ph.D. in the Science of Creative Intelligence from Maharishi University in Switzerland. He also became involved in politics with the Natural Law Party. He ran as a candidate in the United Kingdom's 1992 general election. He also ran for the party in the 1993 Canadian federal election. Henning remained a believer in the power of the mind until his death in 2000.